I'm not sure I totally concur with your analogy, but if a lesser ban is given for masking agents than for steroids it strikes me as a double standard. There would be no incentive for a player to admit to wrong-doing if he knew he'd get a lesser ban. I'd similarly argue that avoiding a drugs test is as bad as failing one.

Over here Rio Ferdinand (English Association Footballer) was banned for 8 months for missing a test; reputedly due to his own forgetfulness/stupidity. Our FA left him out of an England squad before the ban was official (so as to not prejudice any results we got) & the rest of the squad briefly threatened to strike in a (misguided IMHO) show of support for Rio. There's a clear implication that they believed missing the test was somehow seen as a lesser transgression, but if it was treated as such the guilty (and I'm not for one second implying Rio was guilty) might as well never take another test!

Why didn't he receive two years? This is the thing varying degrees of guilty, is missing a test as bad as testing positive for a masking agent, is testing positive for a masking agent as bad as testing positive for steroids? I can't remember anyone off hand admiting to being gulity of taking PED.

Its like the whole thing where people equate what he and Mark Waugh did to what Azaruddin and Cronje did, in terms of match-fixing. The reality is that Waugh and Warne did the equivalent of some minor shop-lifting, while Hansie and co held an armed stick-up of the bank.

Originally Posted by Irfan

We may not like you, your filthy rich coffers or your ratbag scum of supporters but by god do we respect you as a football team

Why didn't he receive two years? This is the thing varying degrees of guilty, is missing a test as bad as testing positive for a masking agent, is testing positive for a masking agent as bad as testing positive for steroids? I can't remember anyone off hand admiting to being gulity of taking PED.

"Getting on for four years ago, at the last World Cup, when it was revealed that Shane Warne had tested positive for a banned diuretic, he claimed it had been taken for reasons of vanity. It was none the less a fact that diuretics of that kind were known masking agents and that the timescale of Warne's comeback from a dislocated shoulder had been very rapid. When his subsequent two-year ban was halved, the chairman of Wada, **** Pound, apparently went incandescent."

"The PFA does not represent players when they have broken the law and been convicted on non-football matters."- Gordon Taylor in 2009 following Marlon King's release after a prison sentence for sexual assault & ABH

"Getting on for four years ago, at the last World Cup, when it was revealed that Shane Warne had tested positive for a banned diuretic, he claimed it had been taken for reasons of vanity. It was none the less a fact that diuretics of that kind were known masking agents and that the timescale of Warne's comeback from a dislocated shoulder had been very rapid. When his subsequent two-year ban was halved, the chairman of Wada, **** Pound, apparently went incandescent."

EDIT: "****" = popular diminutive of Richard.

I think **** Pound is American or Canadian, maybe he should look into Baseball where they are legally allowed to take a number of drugs which are banned by just about every other sport in the World.

Still not arguing I think Mr Warne should have copped two years, but don't think it is as bad as testing positive for drugs. Not sure but I imagine the Aussie team is tested more than just about any other team in World sport

I felt Warne should have been banned for two years. Ditto with Asif + Akhtar. If they are found guilty, thats what it should be.

Asif is very young so his career will be fine, but this might very well be the end for Akhtar.

On the other hand Asif's reputation will be tarnished and would any County employers in the future be keen on hiring him if the label 'drug cheat' are next to his name and I don't think sponsors would be to keen either.

For me this is such a big topic to me and one of great importance and I think there has been an overreaction by some. I know it is hard for the Pakistani cricket fans to take losing twokey players but to call it as your own 9/11 in sporting terms is frankly OTT as I would have thought the whole match fixing scandal 6 years ago was even worse as it was a case of 'well who should we believe?' when you see somebody like Hansie Cronje involved. And even more so for Pakistan with a player of Salim Malik's calibre.

And as for Asif's and Akhtar's claims of innocence, I don't buy that either. Sorry but even if you have injury problems it is the onus of the athlete to grill the doctor/specialist on what is in the treatment they are recieving. They should carry around this sort of information with them as it is very important.

Beware the lollipop of mediocrity. Lick once and you suck forever...

RIP Fardin Qayyumi, a true legend of CW

Originally Posted by Boobidy

Bradman never had to face quicks like Sharma and Irfan Pathan. He wouldn't of lasted a ball against those 2, not to mention a spinner like Sehwag.

I think **** Pound is American or Canadian, maybe he should look into Baseball where they are legally allowed to take a number of drugs which are banned by just about every other sport in the World.

Still not arguing I think Mr Warne should have copped two years, but don't think it is as bad as testing positive for drugs. Not sure but I imagine the Aussie team is tested more than just about any other team in World sport

Hoping for miracle that the two escape unscratched, I know that if they have done something wrong then they should get punished but there is a soft spot since they are Asif and Shoaib if it would have been someone like Rana and Sami then I would not have cared.